Central African Republic

A failed state implodes

Since a coup in March 2013, any semblance of law and order in the Central African Republic has vanished. The state has ceased to exist. As rebels-turned-bandits, mostly Muslim, battle Christian self-defence units, violence is spiraling out of control. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes. As world powers finally begin to intervene, IRIN presents a detailed, analytical picture of events in a country on the brink of catastrophe.

Dewa Iliassa, a young Muslim, lives on a street in Bozoum, a town in northwestern Central African Republic (CAR), with only a small pile of his belongings. He says he is too scared to move more than about 200m in...